4/6 Recap

The first week is over in my league, and the point total is out. I came in 10th out of 11, but I had just a brutal week. Anytime you're first two picks are the worst players for you, it's not going to be great. Ortiz hit under .100 and Sabathia had a 7.59 ERA. Pretty terrible from them. Good weeks from Scott and Garko, but that's about it. Pitching was good other than CC. Particularly Shields and Saunders. Not to worry, my team already has two bombs today, so I should improve on the three from last week. On to the games.

Yankees 2, Rays 0
Good pitching matchup, but Wang was clearly better, even striking out 6 in 6 innings. I have to admit, I like this Yankee team a lot more with Chamberlain in the pen than in the rotation, although that hurts his fantasy value tons, while bumping up Yankees starters and Rivera's value some. Matsui had a big game, responsible for all the runs with his two-run bomb. Not a huge fan of him this year, but he's going to score and drive in runs just being in the lineup.

Toronto 7, Red Sox 4
Josh Beckett was awul in his return. Although Delcarman entered with three of Beckett's runners on and gave up a Big Hurt grand slam, but that doesn't excuse him for how bad his start was. You can't get too worried about this start, and I don't think you can justify sitting him yet, but soon he's going to be fine. Ellsbury hit a bomb out of the 8 spot, I'd expect him to start getting more regular play time. JD Drew keeps hitting, with his second homer. It wasn't so long ago he was a pretty good fantasy option, I don't really know what was up with last year and he fell pretty far in drafts. No idea what he will do on the year, it could be easily .300 25 bombs, or .250 10 and miss most the year. Julio Lugo was the only Sox without a hit and he had three errors. I was huge on him coming into the year, but he might be playing himself out of a job. Aaron Hill stole a base and sports a .348 average. I didn't buy into last year's numbers, but could be a top 5 2b at the end of the year.

Baltimore 3, M's 2
Felix throws a gem and the pen blows it. Really not a good situation for Seattle. Lowe was expected to be the closer, and in his first chance fails miserably. The other problem is all the other candidates for the spot have been pretty bad as well. Keep an eye on Miguel Batista, although he probably wouldn't be available for a little after starting yesterday. So it's probably Lowe's to keep losing. Ibanez woke up a little today, and I definitely like guy, he seems to fall in every draft and is a solid 2 or 3 outfielder. Jeremy Guthrie was good, although as an owner, I don't really feel very confident in him yet. Luke Scott's average is now .538, although I don't expect him to hit even .300, I love the guy this year for his cheap power. Definite buy.

Royals 3, Twins 1
Brett Tomko shuts down the Twins for 5 innings. Yikes. I don't like him at all. Guys with 5.55 ERA the year before at age 34 don't usually turn it around. Boof Bonser hasn't walked a batter all year. At this point, if he's still on the wire, grab him. Soria struck out the side to pick up the save. He's one of the best in the league and wasn't picked as one. I've never really worried to much about the talent of the team when drafting a closer. Just having a guy that will close all year is what really matters. Saves are saves.

Texas 10, Angels 4
Big story is Gerald Laird, going 4-5, 2 bombs, 6 RBI. I really don't like him, I wouldn't get too excited about this game for him. I'm thinking .260 10 homers for him. He should be owned, just don't think he's anything amazing. Jon Garland was rocked after a great start last week. He's really a 4 ERA pitcher without much Ks. Should be owned, but not more than a 3 or 4 starter. David Murphy is getting consistant play time, and today he was hitting 5. Go get him. It looks like it's his job to lose now. I also need to mention how smart I feel for picking up and starting Ben Broussard and being rewarded with a bomb. I like the guy a lot, I've probably said that before, and now he leads the league in homers. I don't know what your waiting for, pick him up.

Indians 2, A's 1
I like Cliff Lee as a sleeper. 6.2 shutout innings with 4 Ks is about the best you can expect from him. With the Indians, he can win 12 games with a 4ish ERA. Joe Blanton was good too, but he walked 4, he should look good for a contender. I should also mention I picked up Santiago Casilla. Sort of a gut move, but he's been arguably the best middle reliever so far. In the long run I don't know how I feel about him, but he should be good for some Ks for now.

White Sox 13, Tigers 2
If this isn't the season low point for the Tigers, then I can't possible imagine what's in store for this team. They're just playing horrible, horrible baseball. Mark Buehrle held them to 1 run over 7 to bring his ERA to a sparkling 8.31. I think all Swisher owners have to be pretty happy with him finally not taking 3 walks and hitting a little, as he led the game off with a homer. Joe Crede is playing pretty well now too. I wonder if the Sox will consider Fields in left if they can keep playing well. But for now, Carlos Quentin continues to hit, with another 4 RBI on the day. The more time Jerry Owens misses, the harder it will be for him to earn his starting spot in left. Although Owens will probably have more fantasy value, real life the value is definitely in Quentin's favor. A bad time for word to come out that Owen's, who was rumored to be off the DL Tuesday, won't begin a minor league rehab until next week. Verlander was bad, but a number of the runs came in off the pen. Really, no lead is safe with these guys the Tigers are running out there. Sheffield was back in the lineup, and he was 1-3. I'm not convinced he's going to be great while he's recovering, but he can't hurt the lineup, even if only because he will draw walks. Cabrera still doesn't look right, and he seems anxious at the plate. Inge got behind the plate, so if there's anyone out there in one of those 1 game eligibility leagues, he's a solid option at catcher until Granderson returns. Also, as expected, Pudge led off and Marcus Thames played left against the lefty.